


To Look Upon The Universe

by startrekkingaroundasgard



Series: 31 Days of Ficmas 2020 [27]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Kissing, Outer Space, Party, Post-Regeneration (Doctor Who), Slow Dancing, Soft Doctor (Doctor Who), Stars, Time Lord (Doctor Who) Reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:07:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28359036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startrekkingaroundasgard/pseuds/startrekkingaroundasgard
Summary: The Doctor and the reader bump into each other at a party and share a dance - and a kiss - on the balcony beneath the stars.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor/Reader
Series: 31 Days of Ficmas 2020 [27]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2035468
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	To Look Upon The Universe

“Hello, sweetie.”

The Doctor spun around, her smile so dazzling that it would have put supernovas to shame. She threw her arms open wide, ready for an embrace, but the moment she realised it was you her entire posture changed. She shoved her hands into her trouser pockets and scronched her face into an adorable frown. “Only River gets to call me that.”

“I won’t tell dear sis if you don’t.”

“Why are you here?”

Surely that was obvious. This was the biggest party of the century! Practically all of the guests were royalty, by title or status, and they had the best caterers and musicians from around the galaxy here to entertain. It was the perfect place to get into trouble and a fantastic excuse to flaunt your new body. Regeneration could be an absolute bitch but you had certainly drawn the lucky straw this time. 

You knew The Doctor had noticed, too. She wasn’t so quick to fluster this time around – her earlier incarnations had been _so_ easy to blind with a pretty face, which was of course why you’d been given one the first time around – but her warm gaze lingered nonetheless and your skin tingled everywhere you wished you could feel her touch. 

The gap between you was already so small but a single step lifted it from friendly to intimate. You could practically smell the universe on her skin, the wind in her hair as she ran from planet to planet as fast as her wonderful TARDIS could take her. Once again you were struck by just how beautiful this body was. She was so soft, unmarked by the harsh realities of life, strong despite them.

Interestingly, you noted, The Doctor wasn’t just passing through. Her change in outfit from the heavy boots and sweet rainbows to an equally quirky but, frankly, hot black suit of the same cut proved that she had made the decision to stick around. She was here for a reason. 

The Doctor bit her lower lip as you teased her braces, sliding a finger beneath the rainbow elastic to ping it against her chest. “Loving these, Doctor.”

“Me too,” she grinned. Her hands were silky soft as she guided yours away, lingering before she finally broke the contact. “Promise me you aren’t here to cause trouble.” 

Known for its cruel sense of humour, it was that exact moment that the universe deigned for the Empress of the Trexod Conglomeration to walk past without her usual entourage of guards. Strings of shining gold dwarf stars hung around her neck, each of the hundred jewels worth at least fifty million credits on the black market. All you had to do was bump into her, slide the broken stem of a glass between her secondary lungs and snatch the shining gems for yourself. If she was lucky, she might even survive.

It would be so easy. But alas… Your chest grew tight as you watched her walk away and you lamented the loss of what could have been yours. Returning your attention back to The Doctor – who was, you had to admit, worth at least half of those shining gems – you sighed, “I promise. I’m just here for a little glitz and glamour. Why are _you_ here, Doctor? Last I checked, these sorts of parties weren’t your thing.”

“Oh, I love a party me. Look, they’ve got nibbles!” She plucked a small, fruity morsel from a passing waiter and shoved it into her mouth whole. Two bites later, her entire face scrunched up and she not so subtly spat it out into her hand and dropped the chewed mess into a plant pot. “Shut up.”

“I didn’t say a word. Come on, Doctor. Tell me why you’re really here. Is it something dangerous? Because it’s very unfair that you get to cause trouble and I have to be good. Especially when you know how much danger turns me on.”

“Delta, you -”

“Oh, I don’t go by that name any more. I am no longer the child that Kovarian made me. I’ve seen the errors of our way. I’m a brand new person now – physically and spiritually. You know, I haven’t murdered any one for months. At least, no one that didn’t deserve it.” 

The Doctor smiled sadly. She understood, you realised. She hid it well beneath grand speeches of morality but she made the same choices you did. Who deserved to live. Who deserved to die. The only difference between you was that you had been trained from birth not to let it weigh you down, to let go of the guilt and carry on because there was no time to waste mourning those that had never deserved to live in the first place. She, on the other hand, lamented their lives as her own. 

A hoard of people heading towards the dance floor jostled you as they passed, so rudely interrupting your moment with The Doctor that you almost whipped out the laser pistol in your bag. Keltrians had such large heads that the target was so large you could shoot them with your eyes closed but their blood was an absolute pain to get out of fabric. Still… 

However, having promised to be on your best behaviour, you took a deep breath then offered The Doctor your hand. “May I have a dance?”

“Oh! I, uh… This me doesn’t really do… that.” She gestured at the ballroom as it proved anything.

You could count at least twenty different styles of wildly differing dances, all perfectly in time to the simple ¾ beat. Some were fast and joyous as couples waved their hands in the air. They managed to fit a remarkable number of steps into the same space that others managed one, long movement. Other guests glided around the floor, unhindered by the flailing limbs of others. Few touched their partners but there was something electric between them, an energy that made the air fizz. It was enrapturing. 

By your side, The Doctor watched them dance, embarrassment barely disguising the longing. Many of the steps were complex, required extreme flexibility and co-ordination that she seemed to lack in this form. She shook her head, suddenly quite disconnected from the rest of the celebrations. “No, I think I’ll sit this one out.”

“Doctor, do you want to dance?”

She shrugged and scuffed the toe of her boots on the polished marble floor. “A little.” 

“Come with me.” 

You gave her no time to protest. Hand in hand, you slipped out onto the balcony and gasped. You’d know that the views off the bough of the Star Ship Santa Maria were legendary but it was something else to see them entirely. 

Overhead, crimson ribbons twisted the very fabric of space into a breath taking sight. The stars seemed to spill from the central point, shooting out from the darkness to illuminate the surrounding space. Bright, distant nebula were woven around the central red ribbons as if trying to tie up the breach in space, to limit its growth and contain it. However, it could not be contained and the blood of the universe continued to drift out into wider space, chaotic, powerful, unstoppable. 

This was the reason you travelled. This was what Kovarian had never been able to provide. Yes, she’d taught you tactics and trained you to be the best assassins that this galaxy and the next had ever seen. But in doing so she had deprived you of beauty and wonder and all the things which you had come to learn made life so fantastic. 

And, faced with such brilliance, The Doctor was looking at you. 

“You’re supposed to admire the universe, sweetie.”

Her response was so quiet that you barely heard: “I am.”

The Doctor yelped as you pulled her into your arms but quickly relaxed against you. She was still nervous, you could tell, but it was no longer from fear that you would try to kill her. It was more personal than that now. Not just a target, a demon and its hunter. You were hesitant to claim the title of gods but, with the universe shining over head, it was difficult to find any distinction. 

You wrapped your arms around The Doctor’s neck and began to sway slowly to the music as the gentle melodies drifted out into space. Cheek to cheek once more, you closed your eyes and focused on the feel of her body. The strength of her chest against yours. The wary spread of her fingers on your back, the light pressure pulling you closer. 

“This is nice,” The Doctor muttered. A shiver ran down your spine as her lips brushed the shell of your ear. 

“I knew you had a graceful bone in there somewhere.”

She scoffed. “Excuse me. I am incredibly graceful. The king of grace, even.”

You pulled back slightly, eyebrow raised in amusement. “Doctor, I saw you trip over a plant pot on our way out here.”

“That doesn’t mean a thing,” she insisted, smiling right up to her eyes. 

“Why are you here, Doctor?”  


“Big posh party, all the rich and glamorous of the sector. Where else would I find you?”  


Together you swayed back and forth until a sharp cough shattered the peace. The Doctor suddenly pulled away. A gorgeous flush tinted her cheeks and her eyes, so old and tired, were wide. “What? We weren’t doing anything.”

“I merely came to inform you both that the host of tonight’s party shall arrive imminently and that the presence of all is requested in the main hall.” With that, the attendant turned and walked away. 

You looked across at The Doctor, who in turn regarded you with thinly veiled disappointment. You shared that feeling. You could have spent an eternity dancing with her here, free from the weight of pain and regret. The host, one curiously known only as 7-F, was not one to upset. Even in a crowd of hundreds your faces would be missed and, for once, you were quite enjoying a danger free night. 

Still, you couldn’t let the moment go to waste. 

Plucking up your courage, you suddenly caught The Doctor’s face in your hands and planted a soft, sweet kiss on her lips. Then without another word, you left the shocked Time Lord – stunned into silence, a miracle in itself – on the balcony and headed back inside. 

Just as you had hoped she would, The Doctor ran after you, grabbed your hand and tugged you into the TARDIS for a new and different type of adventure all together. 


End file.
